«Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions» (Luke 12:15, NW).
I SAW among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them» (Joshua 7:21). Achan confessed his sin with these words.»What was his sin?’ you are perhaps asking if you do not know the Bible story well. His sin was having coveted and taken for himself something that God had explicitly prohibited: «Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it» (Joshua 6:17, 18).
There is no doubt that greed is a sin that has been present in every generation: it can surface in any human heart. Achan possibly heard inner voices that indicated to him that that treasure was his great opportunity. That is why he decided to hide it from the scrutiny of his neighbors. That day, Achan exchanged divine protection for a simple Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold. What a lousy exchange! He only thought about the momentary and fleeting pleasure, believing that there was happiness in it. What he found was tragedy.
«Why, God? Why did you turn away from us and did not defend us? ‘Joshua, the leader of Israel, asked God after having lost a battle. The good Lord answered him immediately: «Because the people have fallen into a great sin: they broke the covenant, took from the accursed things, and stole. They lied. They hid the ‘treasure.»‘ We ought to aware of how far greed can go, how it takes one step after another until the situation becomes irreparable.
To paraphrase Epicurus, «Do you want someone to be wealthy? Then do not give him money; instead, reduce his desires.» It is a great example to follow, and a philosophy that our Master, Jesus Christ, preached with great conviction: «Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions» (Luke 12:15, NIV).Do not consider greed lightly because, in reality, it is a serious sin. Even if no one is aware because only you know what is in your heart, God is certainly mindful of your inner motives.
Do not allow the desire to have what would do you no good, but bring you great harm, to develop little by little within you.
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Take From: Daily Devotions for Women’s 2020
«One Day at a Time»
From: Patricia Muñoz Bertozzi
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Magda Sanz T
